FEBRUARY 17, 2017 — Following up on the LOI signed last month, Color Line and Ulstein have signed a firm contract for the construction of what will be the world's largest plug-in hybrid vessel.

Ulstein won the contract in competition with several other shipyards.

"It is very gratifying that the Norwegian shipbuilding industry has proven its competitiveness internationally, and that Color Line contributes to the further development of the Norwegian maritime industry," says CEO Trond Kleivdal at Color Line.

"We are very pleased that Color Line decided to proceed from a Letter of Intent to a firm contract on the construction of this hybrid vessel. This is an important milestone for us, and we are looking forward to the further cooperation with Color Line," says Ulstein Group CEO Gunvor Ulstein.

The 160 m vessel, with the working title Color Hybrid, will carry 2,000 passengers and 500 cars and will provide significantly increased capacity on the Sandefjord-Strömstad route between Norway and Sweden along with expanded and improved services on board .

The new vessel will be built according to Norwegian flag requirements and registered in the Norwegian Ordinary Ship Register (NOR). Color Line is currently the only company in the international passenger and freight traffic to and from Norway with ships registered in the Norwegian Ship Register and with Norwegian headquarters.